Half a Rainbow
by BebePanda401
Summary: She would be labelled an outcast by society. Yet she would have friends to accept her...but then, nobody with authority would stand up for them anymore. What could she do? -Ichiko drabble. Warning: Mentions of bisexuality.


**_Author: _**_BebePanda401  
**Story Title: **Half a Rainbow  
**Warnings: Bisexuality. - You know what I think? This shouldn't even be a warning. Love should be recognized as love, not being labelled for gender or anything like that.  
A/N: **So everyone, for all the romance, friendship and family stuff that I've ever written, I do not believe I've ever created a piece of writing that focuses solely on Ichiko, have I? And thus, which character do you think this little drabble/story will centre around today? That's right ladies and jellybean's! We're going to be looking into the life of Ichiko!...Well, not really. Just a small piece that focuses on here. This mainly focuses on Ichiko's deal with her bisexuality...well, I believe she is bisexual, based on the series. I wanted to write how it can feel when one realizes they are bisexual, and how it can affect somebody. Please bear in mind that I have hardly any experience with this issue, but love should be genderless, regardless of what anyone says.  
_

* * *

**_~Half a Rainbow~_**

Her forehead was drenched with sweat.

As she leant against the iron-railing of the school she currently attended, Ichiko breathed deeply, inhaling the smoky, congested air. The silvery metal was cold...bitter to the touch. It was ironic really, it was much like how her hear was at that current moment- encased in ice, unable to be pried open by anything, even something as warm as Yumemi's fingertips. So many questions raced through her mind, as the effects of mid-November began to seep its way into her already frost-bitten skin.

Even though her position was stationary, her legs felt like they were spinning out of control, much like her messed-up life. With Yumemi kissing the cold side of a mental collapse, and Suzume distancing herself from the two of them _(Ichiko felt it was because Suzume felt useless, but they would talk again at school) _she didn't know where to turn to for help. The cloud-littered sky somehow reflected on her feelings perfectly- a perfect concoction of misery and torment, with a slight bitter after-taste of agony.

For it was when this self-revelation hit her, did she felt her brown eyes widen, filling with a misty-abyss of shock of her sudden self-revelation.

_She was bisexual._

And she was experiencing feelings, borderline of what a friend _shouldn't _feel- to a female, none the less! Yumemi had enough on her plate as it was- Ichiko shouldn't- _couldn't- _what was this? It felt like a wave had hit her- causing her insides to thrush about and her throat to gurgle. Before she knew it, it felt like she had to chuck out impurities from inside of her body- which is what she did, so many bad flavours and aromas filling her head, like a plague.

A few onlookers that walked by gave her looks of pity and disgust- perhaps they were thinking she was a teen gone out of control. Oh, how judgemental and prejudice some people can be at a first glance- did they know the intricate details of her delicate life? How she was laced into caring for a friend with a reality that didn't match up with everyone else's? How she was forced into a life without a mother's embrace from a tender age? How the sky was her worst enemy, how it haunted her to think she _was _the same as everyone else?

To some people, that may be okay. But when you have two, dear friends that mean the world to you- them being different and you being normal is the most terrifying thing in the world.

However, she may as well be a teen gone out of control. Ichiko didn't know where she stood on this Earth anymore. Her Father wouldn't be able to cope with her for much longer, her Mother had walked out, now her friends were no longer happy with their lives...what could she do? The brown-haired girl fell to her knees, confused. Her breathing had grown even more frantic, no longer able to think clearly. Her heartbeat was irregular, the ice cacooning it with emotions of doubt and fragile mentality.

Yes, her sanity seemed to dissipate within an instant of this fact hitting home.

However, she was the popular, normal one of the group. But in her society and upbringing, being attracted to both sexes was not considered part of the social 'norm'. She would be made an outcast, alienated from so many _(fake)_ warm faces, that belonged to the beings that she considered to be her 'friends'...but Yumemi and Suzume would accept her for who she was without question.

Her lips perked upwards, as her brown eyes dilated. Small, inward chuckles then escaped her barely-shut lips, filling the midday oily sky. For a few, brief flickering moments- these brief chuckles were only heard by the wind. However, they then erupted into full on cackles of pure dotage, showing no sign of incoming dismissal. So many wonderful fates flourished into her mind!

She could be like her dear friends...!

She could _understand _them...!

She could _**be** _with them...!

And the, the rain began to fall in mass amounts. Each droplet of water seemed to douse out this fiery passion, to be exactly like her friends. Her pupils returned to their original state, as her smile fell into an 'o' shape- and her laughing had been diminished and washed away into the gutters. Blinking a few times, possibly to clear her vision, _(either physically or mentally) _her breathing went back to normal.

Ichiko meant 'one protector.' So if she was to be labelled an outcast by society, who would stand up for Yumemi and Suzume? Who, with the authority, would protect them against their weaknesses? Who would be there, to listen and speak out for them about how Suzume and Kazuya's love was truly genuine, and how it wasn't 'sick' or how he wasn't a 'paedophile', and how Yumemi wasn't 'insane' or belonged with the lunatics- that she just couldn't catch up with everyone else's reality? She was their age, and was the only one who could protect them.

Looking up to the sky, her eyebrows furrowed. Her eyes grew angry, almost intense with rage. That's right, it all made sense now! Since that last eventful summer, when the islands appeared visible to the whole world for that brief, selected moment- that's right, that's when Yumemi's depression had grown even more! It made complete sense! So drawing up a breath, she readied herself...

"**IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!**" She screamed with all her might, deeply wishing that someone- _something _from that world _(mainly the red-guy) _would hear her angry pleas- demands, and take Yumemi's vision-orientated powers away from her. Take these stupid, incompetent feelings away from her aching heart. She didn't ask for these feelings for Yumemi...! She didn't want them!

They were _ruining _her life...!

Tears pinpricked her eyes, as she clung to the railings. The streams of water cascaded down her rouge cheeks, not caring about whom would see them. Her dignity? Her pride? That had been lost to the misty abyss in her brown eyes long ago. Her fists tightened on the bars, as if to be cradled by a cold, outer shell of a life- yet, wanting a warm hand to hold. It was disgustingly sappy, but she wanted someone to give her an embrace...to be _there _for her.

"Ichiko? Is that you, Ichiko?"

She paused her cries for a moment, as she looked up. There, she saw a familiar, worn away face- with small glasses and a green umbrella, standing in the rain. If there was a God, he had just answered her prayers.

"Otou...-san...?" Her voice was broken- barley a whisper. His footsteps approached her, shielding her eyes from the dull sky with the umbrella- it was almost illuminating her heart with that beautiful colour green. No longer could she target the cause of her emotional demise. All she could see, was the one parent whom had stuck it out with her all this time.

He scratched the back of head, and looked at her with warm, but weary eyes.

"You didn't come back for dinner, and Nozomi-san didn't see you...I came looking for you. Of course you'd come here, you always came here with Yumemi and Suzume when you were children."

No...not that memory! Please, anything but that!

"I remember, that was when Yumemi first started always having that umbre-"

His voice was almost instantaneously cut off, when his teenaged daughter rushed into his arms, and began wailing equivalent to that of a toddler that had become separated from their Mother. His kind eyes widened- shocked. His daughter would never normally even consider _talking _to him these days, much less run into his arms on her own free will. It was strange...she was definitely unstable.

"Ichiko-"

"I don't want these feelings, Otou-san! I don't want them! I don't, I don't, I don't!" She was restless, overexerting herself. Keeping a hold of the umbrella, he wrapped one strong arms around her petite, yet boyish frame- unsure what she was going on about. As her cries increased, he dropped the contraption altogether, and cradled his little girl in his grasp, like he did when she was a young child. Back when everything seemed that much happier in his life.

Now, it was just the two of them- Father and Daughter, surrounded by the soaking memories of anguish and pain. Yet, through it all, they had strived through life's toughest challenges together. This one shouldn't be too big of a hurdle to jump over- but if he got across, he wouldn't leave her on the other side alone. He'd die before he had to choose.

"Ssh...it's okay..."

"I don't want to love Yumemi- not like this! It feels so wrong! Take these feelings away from me! Otou-san...Otou-san! Help me! I don't want them anymore!" He gently stroked her hair, feeling its warm surge through his fingertips towards his heart. Ichiko merely cried into his chest, finding his heartbeat a soothing lullaby to her ears. Although she would probably blush and deny this family-bonding moment at a later date, for now- all shields were pierced.

"I can't do that, Ichiko. But..."

She looked up at him with the pleading eyes of a lost child. The crevices of her brown orbs were still littered with the tears of anxiety, her face rouge from crying so much, her clothes soaked from the rain. But mus of all, she was desperate to hear some words of advice, so that she could carry her life on into the next day. He considered his choice of words carefully for a brief moment, before smiling down at his daughter, the very same smile holding an essence of gentleness and love.

"I will tell you now- you need to protect what you cherish the most in your heart. Because Ichiko," He placed a hand on her shoulder, causing her to gaze up into his eyes, "When you see the one you love the most smile, it is the best cure for a broken life."

He spoke words of truth and dexterity, but most of all- they were words of _experience. _Sure, he may not be going through exactly the same kind of heartache his daughter was, but even so- he understood the pain of a life spiralling off course. He knew what happened if you didn't have support, someone to lean on- he knew what it was like to not have a reason good enough for living.

But he wouldn't let her go that far into depression. He'd prevent it as much as he possible could.

Looking to the now-clear sky, he wrapped his jacket around Ichiko.

"Look, Ichiko. Half a rainbow has come out." Blinking slightly, Ichiko gave off a small, but content smile. Her brown eyes slightly narrowed, as her lips parted- being the catalyst in her road toward recovery, to rebuild what her life had become, in those waking moments when she had lightly tread through hell and back. But the thing was- she had survived that journey. With a little help, yes.

But she had _survived! _

And as the two walked back home, Ichiko could only give a small glance towards that half of a rainbow yet again. It wasn't complete at all- something from it was lacking. However, what was there of it, was an intricate design of colour and life, a symbol of hope and a new beginning. Sure, many people may want the whole product- that was there choice. But in the big world she lived in, some took the time to admire its intense beauty- and they were the people that should shape the world.

Life wouldn't get better for Ichiko for a while. She would have to face more of this burning heartache, and have to have her anxiety levels reach their peak at some stage. More tears would be shed, maybe some blood would be lost. However, she knew she could get through it. There would be times that people felt like giving up- everyone feels that. But she accepted who she was.

And with that, she came to the conclusion that sometimes, half of something was better than the whole product.

* * *

_**A/N: **I have nothing to say. This FAILED. If I have offended anyone, please let me know. However, I would still like some reviews!_


End file.
